The Anatomy of an Acupuncture Needle

Can I see it? Acupuncturists get asked this a lot. “It” being the acupuncture needle.

Many people are curious about these mysterious and sometimes anxiety-provoking objects. Most of the time, when people are shown acupuncture needles, they are surprised to discover how thin they are. They do not bear any resemblance to needles that are used for injections or to draw blood.

See for yourself. The pictures below show an average-size acupuncture needle.

What does an acupuncture needle look like?

This is the shaft of an acupuncture needle, the part that the acupuncturist holds:

This is the tip of an acupuncture needle, the part that is inserted into your body:

Acupuncture needles are so thin that they bend when you touch the tip:

The average-size acupuncture needle is slightly shorter than a tube of lib balm:

Acupuncture needles, depending on the body part, are inserted about one-quarter of an inch into the skin (areas with muscle mass or adipose tissue can require deeper insertion):

Think of this as your friend:

Acupuncture needles come in various lengths and thinnesses, with many acupuncturists opting for needles even thinner than what’s shown here. If you have a fear of needles, let your acupuncturist know. Most acupuncturists stock several needle sizes and will be more than happy to use the thinnest variety at your request.

17 Comments

Love your articles! Thanks for taking the time to write them!
I would have also added to this that it takes at least 20 (thinnest grade) acupuncture needles to fit into a large hypodermic needle. You may want to experiment and take a picture of that!

Congratulation on the good work.
However, the needle shown is the “Chinese kind” of needle. Having practiced acupuncture for the past 30 years in Japan, personally I would not volunteer for a treatment with those and use them on my patients only as the absolute last resort. The youngest patient I treated with Japanese NEEDLES was 3 years old – and did not complain. I dare doubt, that he would have taken the treatment with the shown needles.
Otherwise the youngest patients I ever treated were my own four children: moxibustion on the day they were born.
I believe many people would opt for the gentler Japanese style of acupuncture if they only knew about it.
Greetings from Japan
Thomas Blasejewicz

*Sigh*, indeed, I have found certain Chinese acupuncturists treatments to be VERY painful. I suspect that it is because the needles are larger or they just make it more painful in general. It seems that the Chinese ‘philosophy’ of sorts seems to be ‘no pain no gain’ but this is not really true. 🙁 I have found this more painful style of acupuncture to be effective, but I doubt that it is really necessary to achieve the benefits one seeks. It is very hard to find anyone who practices Japanese acupuncture.

We need this kind of thing to help reduce the fear factor. A couple of quibbles: What you are calling the shaft is actually the handle of the needle. The tip is the sharpened end of the shaft which is inserted into the patient. Sometimes, depending on acupuncture styles, much more than 1/4 inch of the shaft is inserted. This is why, according to Clean Needle Technique, the acupuncturist should NEVER hold the needle by the shaft, only by the handle.

[…] bear any resemblance to needles that are used for injections or to draw blood. (See one up close here.) In most cases, the insertion of acupuncture needles does not hurt. It can produce a variety of […]

I am so relieved to hear that my side effects are normal. But why does my body hurt if I move while the needles are still inserted?
Sara reading your articles has given me the confidence to keep up my accupuncture treatments. Thanks so much.

I was diagnosed with a progressive for of MS at Johns Hopkins in 1995 and have only used acupuncture since then, I normally take needle treatments once a week from a Korean MD. When he’s out of town, I use a local practitioner. The needle placement seems about the same but it just occurred to me to ask if they use different size needles. The results of the treatments are much different. Not better or worse, just different. Does anyone have any thoughts on the subject before I question my practitioners?

My mum does acupuncture and done it 3 times with no one in the room with her, the next time she had to get it done I went in with her and I thought it looked wrong.. She has pinched nerves in her back from work.
When the guy put them in her back there was no cleaning the area or hands… When he opened the pack to get a single needle out he placed it on the skin gives it a small tap removes a plastic cover and then like screws it in.. As if he never got it in far enough. But he hits it as if it’s hit the muscle I thought it didn’t have to touch the muscle? Does it? Anybody help? My mum Walks in like she’s disabled and walks out looking worse… Help any one?! Does this sound wrong to you?

[…] Most people who have never had acupuncture do not realize how thin acupuncture needles are. They bend when you touch them. For an up-close look at an acupuncture needle, check out this article. […]

[…] Most people who have never had acupuncture do not realize how thin acupuncture needles are. They bend when you touch them. For an up-close look at an acupuncture needle, check out this article. […]

[…] Most persons who have by no means had acupuncture do not comprehend how skinny acupuncture needles are. They bend when you touch them. For an up-near glimpse at an acupuncture needle, check out out this short article. […]

[…] Most people who have never had acupuncture do not realize how thin acupuncture needles are. They bend when you touch them. For an up-close look at an acupuncture needle, check out this article. […]

Some times you can feel more sore than when you walked in to the appointment.Please remember that everyone is different in their treatment needs and their reactions. This does not mean the sessions are helping or hurting.. Any practitionaer will explaing along the way what they are going and try to address your concerns. Acupunture does help. I was in a var accident and experience a broken jaw and the only relief came with actupunture. Went to a dentist that did not help at all. Wanting to learn more about it! School perhaps….